Rematch
by Fuujin Kishukaze
Summary: A year after the battle against Ultimecia, Squall and Seifer mean to finish the fight they started at the beginning of the game.


Author's Note: Well, this is a pointless little fic written by me and Megami Sakura one Saturday night. We really didn't have a plot and we were both playing characters that we weren't used to - me as Seifer and Zell, and Megami as Squall - so it's not what you're used to from me. But it's still a pretty neat fic... so read, review, and enjoy. I demand it! Especially the reviewing part. ^_^*  
  
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Molten fear poured down into Seifer Almasy's stomach like hot lead. His breath fast and irregular, he allowed the searing sensation settle and cool in the pit of his lower abdomen, and then slowly he offered an arrogant sneer. Much like his rival, the former sorceress' knight wasn't one to show his emotions easily. Only where Squall showed cool indifference, he preferred a facade of cruelty... and recently, that confident smirk had become an all but permanent expression on his face. It was better than letting anyone know that it hurt him when young SeeD cadets looking for glory came down from the Garden on their off weekends to torment him. That it hurt him to know that he could never go home, even though he had been reformed for nearly a year.  
  
Rising the Hyperion to point defiantly in the face of four such SeeD cadets, Seifer attempted to fool himself into thinking he would win the fight. Though he knew better. Him versus four SeeD cadets? Inwardly he scoffed. His opponents may have been young and under-trained, but they had the advantage of numbers and all but new weapons. All Seifer had was himself and the Hyperion, which boasted a thin coating of rust from a good period of disuse. And that, coupled with the fact that the cadets had managed to catch him in one of Balamb's few alleyways accounted for the fear that sat in his stomach like a ten-pound weight.  
  
So now all he could do was fight his way out, with a smirk on his face.  
  
"C'mmon kid, show me what'cha got."  
  
The leader of the small group of cadets stepped forward, drawing a pair of metal karate fans out of their holding spot around his waist. Casting a glance back at his friends, he nodded once and then came at Seifer, bladed fans aimed for the blonde-haired man's chest. Cutting them away with the Hyperion, Seifer continued to grin, despite his inner lack of confidence.  
  
* Well, at least they can only come at me one at a time. The alley's too narrow for more than one of them to try anything...*  
  
*  
  
A cool breeze streamed into Squall Leonhart's room through the single open window. Sighing faintly, the Headmaster of Balamb Garden stood up from his place at his desk and meandered over to the window. For a moment, he scanned the scenery outside with an indifferent eye and then slowly he closed the window. It looked and smelled like rain and there was no sense in letting the rain soak everything in his room if the sky did start spitting crystalline drops of water.  
Returning to his workplace, he attempted to re-immerse himself in the paperwork he had been doing, but he couldn't. Squall hated paperwork almost as much as he hated opening himself up emotionally to other people... Once he walked away from the work, even if it was only for a second like it had been, he found it incredibly difficult to start up again - it had always worked that way for him. Besides, Garden life had been hectic lately, leaving his thoughts slightly scrambled. And that wasn't helping him get things accomplished.  
  
Offering the window another one of his winter-gray gazes, the chocolate-tressed youth decided he needed something to clear his mind. A walk perhaps. Maybe to Balamb. At least then he could be alone, with nothing but the open road between the Garden and the small coastal city as his companion. And if it did start to rain, who cared? He'd walked in the rain before.  
  
So without hesitation, Squall exited his room, grabbing his fur-lined jacket on the way out and began walking. First to the turnstiles that would lead him out of the Garden. Then down the single, empty road that carved a path to Balamb out of the island's grasslands. Then finally, into the outskirts of the peaceful little town. And now, the only thing that kept him from having a moment's peace was a single question that had formed in his mind when he had arrived. What did he do now that he was here?  
  
A thought was given to visiting Zell Dincht's mother, but he quickly pushed it out of his mind. He wasn't really in the mood for company, no matter how inviting it seemed. And besides, the spiky-haired SeeD had the day off as well and he wasn't particularly looking forward to seeing Zell, should he have decided to visit his mother as well. Next his mind lingered on visiting the town's junk shop, after all, he could always use an upgrade for his weapon. And the newer issues of Weapon's Monthly had offered several interesting choices.  
  
Deciding upon the latter, the Headmaster moved down the all but empty streets in the direction of his destination. But he never made it there. A very familiar voice, echoing down a narrow alley to reach his ears caught his attention. Seifer's voice. Curious and somewhat apprehensive - though neither showed on his face - Squall ducked into the narrow space and spotted Seifer fighting a SeeD cadet. No. Make that four cadets - three of which were in a pile at the former sorceress' knight's feet, unconscious.  
  
"What's going on here?"  
  
Taking less than a second's pause in his deadly dance with the last of the four cadets, Seifer offered Squall a sour look. "What's it look like, -Headmaster-?" he asked, dodging a blow from a set of nunchucks his target had aimed for his face.  
  
Squall met his rival's sour look with a frown. True, he knew that Seifer was far from a decent-hearted person, but starting fights with students? It seemed a little low, even for the blonde... but that didn't change the fact that there he was, hacking away at one of Squall's trainees.  
  
* Didn't your mother ever tell you to not pick on people smaller than you? * he questioned his rival mentally. Then, out loud, he spoke softly but firmly, "Leave them alone."  
  
"Leave them alone?" Seifer snorted. Great. A year. It'd been a year since the Sorceress War... a year since he'd gone back to his normal life, and he was still the bad guy. His sneer turned into a scowl - it was times like these he wished he still -was- the villain. "Try getting them to leave -me- alone, Squall."  
  
The cadet he was fighting made another attempt for his face, and this time, the blonde-haired knight was too caught up in his verbal fight with the younger man to dodge the blow. Wincing as the nunchucks' chain traced a crimson line across his cheek, the former sorceress' knight caught Squall's eyes with his own. "Look, I really don't have time for this. I'm a little busy if you can't tell... But you might try making an appointment - I have a long list of people looking to kick my ass."  
  
The shorter man sighed. Attacker or attackee, the fight needed to stop now. So, swiftly, Squall removed his gunblade from its place at his side and jammed the hilt of the weapon into the back of the cadet's head. Watching with a hint of sorrow evident behind his cold facade as the boy crumpled to the ground, the Headmaster replied, "I don't do appointments, Seifer."  
  
"Aww..." Seifer replied, pressing the blade of his weapon into the ground as he wiped at beads of sweat that clung to his brow. "I was looking forward to introducing you to my secretary. But then again, you never were one to wait your turn for anything, were you?" The corners of his lips twitching into an overconfident smirk, the blonde-haired man pressed his sweat-coated fingers to the gash on his cheek.   
  
"So, what brings Balamb Garden's esteemed Headmaster to my humble hometown?"  
  
Heaving a long, heavy sigh, Squall let his free hand fall causally on his hip. He didn't feel like dealing with the blonde-haired man right now. If he hadn't come down the alley, maybe he could've gotten away with not seeing Seifer during his visit. But it was a little late for that - now it was unavoidable.  
  
"I went for a walk and heard your voice."   
  
* And I thought you were causing trouble so I came down here to stop whatever it was you were up to. It's been a year though... maybe I should've ignored you. But then again, why were you fighting SeeD cadets? *   
  
"Why were the cadets after you?"  
  
Seifer shrugged, a bit startled by Squall's lack of contempt towards being in his rival's presence, though his face never showed it. That, however, didn't stop the former sorceress' knight from making a sarcastic comment. "I guess the Headmaster over there thinks he can send his cadets to take care of a problem spot he couldn't."  
  
"I take care of my own problems."   
  
* And I don't have time for you, Seifer. * Shaking his head, the Headmaster resheathed his gunblade slowly turned away. Then, with an equal lack of haste, Squall moved away from Seifer.  
  
"Take care of it yourself?" he called back, falling in step behind Squall like a child chasing after his idol - just close enough to be annoying, but far enough away to avoid any sudden attacks. "Doesn't look like you're doing that too well, right now." A smirk. "If you really were man enough to take care of your own problems, you wouldn't be running from the guy who could very well be the death of your four beloved cadets back there.  
  
"You're as bad as the chicken-wuss."  
  
  
Upon hearing that, the dark-tressed man stopped dead in his tracks, his feet grinding in the gravel as he whipped around to face Seifer. "I never said I was running. And if I'm not mistaken, you have no room to talk. Didn't you run from battle after battle during the Sorceress War?"  
  
Seifer returned the glare, pure steel in his eyes. "Big words coming from someone who's got a bunch of pussy friends to fight for him. Make no mistake - I fight my own battles and run from the ones I'm smart enough to see I can't win. I don't make my friends bleed for me."  
  
The words, however, did not keep the former sorceress' knight's blood from boiling... and before either man knew it, the older man had the tip of his gunblade a scant few inches from Squall's neck. "But I'll make you bleed. How about I give you another souvenir scar... this one across your neck?"   
  
God, it would be so easy right now. So easy to just slit his throat from ear to ear and walk away. It wouldn't have been as though anyone would've known it had been him - there were no witnesses. So easy... But somehow, the blonde-haired gunbladist managed to hold himself back. No. If he was going to kill Squall it was going to be a fair fight. Squall would see he didn't need to run once and for all.  
  
"How about it, Squall?"  
  
Squall shrugged, reaching for the weapon he had just put away. "It's time someone sent you back to hell."  
  
The taller man smirked, raising his head slightly so he could gaze down at his enemy in an attempt to look and feel superior. "The only person here going to hell is you." And with that, Seifer lashed out with his weapon, attempting to draw blood from Squall's chest.  
  
"...Whatever," he returned softly, jumping backwards as he tried to avoid Seifer's attack. He wasn't that lucky, however, and before Squall knew it blood was flowing freely from a small cut on his arm. Biting back the pain, he answered the blonde-haired knight's attack with an upward thrust of his own.  
  
With practiced grace, Seifer caught the blow from Squall's blade with his own, sending sparks flying into the gray afternoon. "Is that the best you can do?" he demanded. Leveling the point of his blade with his enemy's already wounded arm, he lunged forward in an attempt to worsen the already present wound enough to make Squall drop his weapon.  
  
Staying silent, Squall lowered himself to one knee, allowing the blow to pass harmlessly over his shoulder. Then, balling his free hand into a fist, the dark-haired Headmaster aimed for the spot where it counted.  
  
Groaning as Squall's punch hit it's intended target, the blonde-haired male lowered his free hand to grab his groin in pain. "Oh, you're gonna pay for that." Taking a deep breath, he raised himself up to his full height and attempted to ignore the throbbing pain in the lower half in his body. Then, pulling his hand away from his wound, he pushed it forward and set his face in hard concentration.   
  
"Firaga!" he shouted, flames blossoming from his fingertips as the words rolled off his lips.  
  
Rolling out of the way of the powerful fire spell, Squall scowled faintly. "Hit me with your best shot, not your worst," he mumbled, throwing his hand out to his right side. Then, concentrating staining his features, he lifted it to his face, before pushing it in Seifer's direction. "Blizzaga!"  
  
Narrowly avoiding the freezing cold rush of air and ice caused by the spell, Seifer scowled. "Anything I could possibly throw at you would be better than your best shot, Squall." With that, the older man moved his hand into position to cast another spell. But before he could a bolt of magic struck him from behind, the source not making him or herself know immediately.  
  
For a moment, he stood in silent agony, smoke rolling off his gray trenchcoat... and then slowly he turned to look for his attacker. And there, several feet away from both him and Squall, stood Zell Dincht.  
  
"Chicken-wuss..." he hissed.  
  
"You wanna fresh one, Seifer?" Zell demanded, his eyes narrowing sharply as he prepared to cast another spell. "I'm full o' lightnin' today."  
  
"Well Squall... if you're going to play unfairly, I think I may have to go."  
  
"S'right Seifer... Yer mom's callin' ya."  
  
"Can it, chicken-wuss," Seifer snapped, the urge to cast another spell bubbling up inside him.  
  
Zell simply grinned idiotically.  
  
Squall's cool gaze fell on the spiky-haired SeeD. "Stay out of this, Zell." He needed to do this by himself. He needed to defeat Seifer without his friends standing by or attempting to help him.  
  
"Th' hell? He's not worth yer time, Squall. Lemme get this scum outta yer sight," Zell said, glaring pointedly at Seifer. "I could use a couple o' easy fights." And at this, the spiky-haired youth made several passes at an invisible enemy.  
  
"I appreciated you wanting to help... but stay out of this, Zell," the dark-haired man repeated.  
  
"Aww... c'mmon... he's just gonna run away if you don't let me help ya."  
  
"I may run, but at least I don't hide behind my friends like Squall does," Seifer responded coolly, his gaze shifting to Zell and then back to his rival's face. And at this, the blonde-haired male broke into a run, pushing past both Squall and his shorter companion. Squall was right, this was a fight between the two of them and with Zell around there would be no way the two of them could finish it. So his only option was to run... and vow to catch up with his rival another day. One where his flunkies weren't around every corner.  
  
Watching as Seifer retreated, Squall sighed and shot Zell a vaguely irritated glance. Then, slowly, he moved back into the alley and lifted one of the fallen SeeD cadets onto his shoulders. "Take two of the kids. I'll get the other two."  
  
"Yer not gonna go after him?" Zell inquired, arching his eyebrows in mild surprise as he watched the chocolate-tressed Headmaster lift the two younger boys into his arms. A frown poisoning his features, the martial artist lifted his two cadet up off the ground and followed after Squall.  
  
"Tch, whatever, man."  
  
Squall shot a disapproving glance over his shoulder. "And have you follow me? No, not a chance." * I'll find him where there will be no one to ruin it... like you did. *  
  
"Oh," was all Zell could manage. He hadn't meant to ruin it for Squall... instead, he thought he had been helping. And the fact that his leader didn't feel the same way hurt pretty badly... even when he tried to shrug it off as 'oh, that's just Squall for you.'   
  
Slumping his shoulders, the spiky-haired male followed the other man back to the Garden in complete silence. 


End file.
